Peisander (; ) was a
Sparta
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
n admiral during the
Corinthian War
The Corinthian War (395–387 BC) was a conflict in ancient Greece which pitted Sparta against a coalition of city-states comprising Thebes, Greece, Thebes, Classical Athens, Athens, Ancient Corinth, Corinth and Argos, Peloponnese, Argos, backe ...
. In 395 BC, he was placed in command of the Spartan fleet in the
Aegean by his brother-in-law,
the king
Agesilaus II
Agesilaus II (; ; 445/4 – 360/59 BC) was king of Sparta from 400 to 360 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponn ...
. Peisander was a relatively inexperienced general, and in its very first action his Spartan fleet was decisively defeated at the
Battle of Cnidus
The Battle of Cnidus () was a military operation conducted in 394 BC by the Achaemenid Empire against the Spartan fleet during the Corinthian War. A fleet under the joint command of Pharnabazus and former Athenian admiral, Conon, destroyed the ...
. Peisander died fighting aboard his ship.
References
*Fine, John V.A. ''The Ancient Greeks: A critical history'' (Harvard University Press, 1983).
*
Ancient Spartan admirals
4th-century BC Spartans
Ancient Greeks killed in battle
394 BC deaths
Spartans of the Corinthian War
Year of birth unknown
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